Psychedelic therapy begins to be used in companies in the US

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In recent years, microdosing psychedelics has become more popular, but the drugs are still taboo in the workplace. Still, some business leaders and HR professionals are promoting ketamine-assisted therapy as an increasingly common health benefit for employees.

Ketamine is legal for medical use in the US and UK, and while it is most widely used as an anesthetic, studies have found it to be useful in treating depression and other mental illnesses. As rates of mental illness rose by more than 25% in the first year of the pandemic, according to a recent World Health Organization report, ketamine-assisted therapy has become more popular as a mental health treatment.

Jason Duprat, a nurse-anesthetist who teaches other healthcare professionals how to administer therapeutic ketamine, says enrollment at his Ketamine Academy has increased by 15% per year since its founding in 2017. But it’s only been in the last two years that he’s seen the term.” ketamine-assisted psychotherapy” become popular.

Shane Metcalf, co-founder and director of people and culture at 15Five, a provider of HR software, plans to make his company the first tech firm to offer psychedelic benefits later this year. 15Five would follow the example of soap maker Dr. Bronner’s, which is among the first American companies to offer these benefits.

“We’re not talking about recreational use,” Shane says. “It’s a completely different experience to have it with a therapist who is mentoring you and allowing you to gain a new perspective.”

Sherry Rais, co-founder and co-executive president of Enthea, a psychedelic health provider that has partnered with Dr. Bronner’s says that 8% of the 450 employees and family members covered have used the benefit so far. The program by Dr. Bronner’s is a pilot for Enthea, but they have at least 25 other companies that have expressed interest in offering psychedelic benefits.

Making psychedelic therapy a benefit to employees “solves a lot of problems” that come with the affordability and stigma associated with psychedelics as a medical treatment, says Steven Huang, who works at the intersection of diversity, equity and inclusion, and psychedelics at the Multidisciplinary Association for Studies. psychedelics. “Suddenly it’s like, ‘Oh, my employer is giving me security to do this.'”

In-person ketamine treatments can cost upwards of $5,000. A telemedicine option can be roughly a tenth of that — and having an employer cover that cost makes it even more affordable. Steven, who has worked in HR for tech companies like Facebook and Square and has seen companies offer many different services in the name of wellness, says ketamine-assisted therapy is a relatively affordable benefit for companies.

Shane and Steven agree that ketamine-assisted therapy can be especially helpful for leaders. “Unresolved trauma shows up in our leadership styles,” says Shane. Psychedelics can make us more open to new ideas, more compassionate, and can facilitate more nuanced conversations.

Shane predicts that many more companies will begin offering psychedelic mental health benefits in the next two to four years. “When you have people healing, [elas] will treat people better. They will care more about the human being as a whole rather than seeing them as transactional cogs in the machine,” he says. “There is a better way of doing business.”

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